Democratic Chatter 12-23-2008

George Wenschhof Bio

President-elect Barack Obama is expected to release Blagojevich contact report today - the report is said to list contacts made with Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich by members of the transition team. The report has been completed for a week but the release was delayed as a result of a request from the U.S. Attorneys involved in the case. The Washington Post has more here.

Far right Republicans have attempted to blow up the delay in issuing the report while Republican Senator John McCain (AZ) and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich have stated it is time for everyone to be working together. We will post the report when it becomes available.

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Banks unable to account for how TARP funds have been used - we reported Sunday that it was likely Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson would request the additional 350 Billion from the Troubled Assets Relief Program. We also pointed out there had been no accounting as to how the first 350 Billion had been spent and called for a detailed report to be issued that would include an analysis of how the money had been spent and how effective it had been in helping to stabilize our economy. Well, it seems the banks are unable or unwilling to say how they spent the money. CNN.com has more here.

The first 350 Billion was initially approved to go toward purchasing troubled mortgages, hence the name. Instead, 350 Billion was given to Banks with apparently no strings attached. In addition, no criteria has been provided as to how the Treasury Secretary selected the banks who received money. Certainly, Congress should not spend another 350 Billion without knowing where it is going and without conditions as to how it will be spent.

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Obama to be sworn in using same Bible as Lincoln - certainly a lot of symbolism here. The President-elect has drawn comparisons to President Lincoln as he has reached out to former adversaries, notably Hillary Clinton and made them a part of his administration. The Hill.com has more here. Interestingly, for Frederick, Maryland residents, native Roger Brooke Taney, the Chief Justice at the time, handled the swearing in proceedings of President Lincoln. It was also Taney who wrote the majority opinion in the Dred Scott Supreme Court decision.

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Vice-President Joe Biden re-emerges on the scene - after weeks of being overshadowed by the President-elect and the efforts by the Obama transition team. Sunday, he appeared on ABC "This Week" and last night he was on CNN "Larry King Live". Today, he will chair the Economic Transition Team meeting. Change.gov has more here. This meeting will take place as third quarter reports indicate the economy continues to shrink. Bloomberg.com has more here.

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